My ExGirlfriend's Reincarnation
by water.pearls
Summary: Inuyasha is devastated when his girlfriend passes away. But when a new girl arrives at his school, everything changes. She reminds him strongly of his ex, but he doesn't want to make that connection... until he discovers her deepest, most darkest secret.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

**PROLOGUE (CHAPTER 1)**

She winced as the knife cut through her skin and found the tender flesh underneath. She swore under her breath and clenched her teeth, continuing to hack slowly away at the cut, making it deeper with each jerk of the knife. The blood dripped down onto the white marble floor, staining it with a puddle of the sickly red liquid.

Her whole body shook with tremors as she finally threw down the sharpened knife. She sunk to the ground and laughed feverishly as more rivulets of blood flowed freely onto the floor from her wrist. Hurting, yet feeling satisfaction.

She started as the door behind her suddenly banged open. She attempted to sit upright, but her body wasn't responding.

"I thought you got rid of that habit, Kikyou," a familiar voice said from behind her.

"I thought I told you not to visit me this late at night anymore," she replied coldly, "it is past midnight…past your bedtime."

The youkai didn't reply, but approached the girl with quick steps. He picked her up off the floor, and helped her clean up. She let him take care of the mess she left, having no strength left to do it herself. She watched his emotionless face as he scrubbed the tainted floor clean of her blood, leaving behind the once again innocent white.

She knew his insides were churning, disgusted at how she could even think about inflicting pain on herself for the satisfaction.

By the time he had set her back into her bed, she was fast asleep. He checked her bandages and sighed. She had cut even deeper than usual today, and had lost so much blood that he was surprised that she hadn't fainted. He sat down next to her bed and leaned against the edge.

_What happened to her? What happened to that Kikyou I used to know? When was the last time she didn't have to hide behind a mask? The last time she didn't have to hide her true emotions? When did she last smile a genuine smile? _

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Gahhhh… I'm reaaally bad at writing violent scenes... It's my first time writing one. (Not to mention my first attempt at a fanfiction... o.0)

Sorry if it seemed a bit forced, but I felt that it was the only way to start the fanfic so that it'd be… eyecatching .

R&R?


	2. First Impressions

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

**.CHAPTER 2.**

**First Impressions**

_Flashback_

"_Takahashi!! Sit up straight!" Inuyasha's teacher snapped at him, "I can't have you slouching; it affects your learning experience. We wouldn't want that, now, would we?"_

_He simply rolled his eyes at her and slouched down on his seat even further. There was scattered laughter throughout the class._

_The teacher sighed. It was useless to argue with that stubborn half-demon. She walked over to his desk and rapped him smartly on the head with her ruler. "Did you hear me, Takahashi?"_

_He groaned and finally surrendered to his teacher's nagging demands._

_She gave him a big, fake smile and walked back up to the front of the room to resume her dull lecture. The class sunk back into its typical stupor. Inuyasha went back to fiddling with his pencil and doodling on scratch paper._

_There was a gentle knock on the door, and Inuyasha looked up to see a young girl walk into the classroom. She was a rather pretty looking girl with delicate features. Her long black hair was tied in a loose ponytail with a large red bow. A red poncho hung loosely over her white blouse, and covered part of her jeans. Many of the girls noted that these weren't the most fashionable clothes, but they envied the way she looked good anyway._

_Her bright eyes were constantly wandering, darting around the classroom at the students whose eyes were all fixed on her. _

_Her eyes met Inuyasha's, and her gaze lingered on his features. They were both unable to move, to look away. It was as if a spell held them in place as they stared at each other, transfixed._

_The girl heard a small cough behind her, and jumped, breaking bonds with this strange hanyou. She turned to find the teacher examining her through half-moon spectacles. The teacher cleared her throat, looking at the new girl expectantly._

"_Oh! Sorry… My name is Kikyou, and I'm a transfer student from… from another part of Japan," she spoke hesitantly, but with a surprisingly strong voice._

_The teacher smiled at her encouragingly and said, "Would anybody like to show Kikyou around to her classes? Maybe help her out for a week or so, and tell her more about the school."_

_Hands shot up from all over the classroom, most of which were the boys' hands. A loud sound startled Inuyasha, and he threw a sidelong glance at his best friend Miroku, who was jumping up and down excitedly in a vain attempt to get the teacher's attention. This ridiculously childish action wasn't unlike the other boys' equally embarrassing efforts._

"_Feh," Inuyasha muttered under his breath, "Silly bastards. You idiots don't deserve a week with that poor girl." He closed his eyes and chuckled at them._

"_Inuyasha Takahashi! Would you be so kind as to help this girl out?" the teacher picked him, the only boy wasn't making a complete fool of himself. She smirked as he groaned. Miroku fell back in his chair with a look of utter rejection._

"_Sure…" he muttered._

"_Alrighty! It's all set, then. Kikyou, dear, you can sit in the empty seat in front of that boy, Inuyasha," she pointed at the desk, and gave her another encouraging smile._

_Kikyou walked to her seat, ignoring the staring eyes of others._

_After class, Inuyasha walked out of the room, leaving Kikyou behind._

"_Takahashi!" he heard his teacher's sharp voice behind him, "Aren't you forgetting someone?"_

_Inuyasha gritted his teeth together and whipped around._

"_Feh," he said, waiting impatiently for Kikyou to pack up and go._

_For the remainder of the day, Inuyasha walked her around the school and tried being nice. He pitied her. So weak and small… and quiet. Usually, she seemed as if she wasn't listening to him talk. She'd stare into space, deep in thought. When Inuyasha would clear his throat impatiently and ask her if she was listening, she'd give him a small smile and say that she was. Then she'd stare at him with her bright eyes, and he'd feel that irresistable connection with her again before one of them broke eye contact._

_He would never have admitted it, but he kind of liked her. He felt pulled to her, and every second he spent with her strengthened their bond, whether they spent it in silence, or in conversation (which rarely occurred)._

_The next few days passed eventlessly, and soon, it was Friday, and Inuyasha's week with Kikyou was almost over. He felt a sort of sadness that they'd be parting so soon. But he couldn't quite figure out why that was…_

_End Flashback_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hmmm… sorry if the story is dragging.. guhhh… I'm terrible at setting stories up.

Help me out? XD Lol… from such… literate writers like yourselves, I would be glad to receive advice from (flattery always works…).

PM me?

R&R? You know you want to... XD


	3. Loving Friends

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

**.CHAPTER 3.**

**Loving Friends**

Inuyasha's walk down memory lane was ended abruptly when a piercing shriek came from the bed he was leaning on. He scrambled up to find Kikyou's figure twisted on the bed, and her face contorted with pain. She was sweating profusely, and muttering incomprehensively. Suddenly, she reached up and grabbed Inuyasha's hand. She stared into his eyes with her bloodshot eyes.

They were no longer the twinkling brown ones that Inuyasha had known before; they were replaced by dull gray pupils mixed with red that gave Inuyasha the constant impression that she was crying. Only a month ago, Inuyasha could look into her eyes, and see the world, but now, no matter how desperately he searched, or how long he stared, he could find nothing, just vast stretches of emptiness.

"I-Inuyasha… m-make it st-stop… Please… make it s-stop…" she stuttered; her fingers grasped Inuyasha's wrist tightly and she shook with fear. He quickly placed his other hand on her forehead. He snatched it back just as quickly, for it burned like fire and was frighteningly hot to the touch.

Inuyasha wasted no time in retrieving a wet towel to put on her forehead. As he tended to her weak body, she slipped back into a dreamless sleep.

Once her breathing became even again, Inuyasha sat back down next to the bed and went back to his own world.

_Flashback_

"_MIROKUU, YOU PERVERT!! DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" a raging girl screamed at a guilty looking monk._

_The monk laughed nervously._

"_Toodles!"_

_Inuyasha and Kikyou sweat-dropped as the monk ran from the room followed closely by the girl. They sat and counted down together._

"_Three… Two… One…"_

_SLAP SLAP_

_A couple seconds later, the girl re-entered the room with her nose high in the air. The monk trailed after with two giant red hand prints on his face._

"_Miroku, Miroku… You pervert… When will you ever learn?" Inuyasha sighed, "Girls don't like it when you grope them."_

"_Yeah, especially this one!!" the girl turned to look at Miroku, who cowered under her death glare._

"_But Sango, cupcake-"_

"_I'm NOT your damn cupcake," she cut Miroku off and stomped off in a huff. Miroku stared after her with an expression filled with longing._

"_That girl will be the end of me…" he sighed, then jumped to his feet and ran after her. Soon after he left the room, Inuyasha and Kikyou heard more painful slapping sounds coming from the other room._

_Kikyou giggled at them and snuggled closer to Inuyasha._

"_Ohh… Yashia… I love having sleepovers at your house," she gazed lovingly up at Inuyasha who nuzzled her with his nose._

_He lifted her chin so their eyes met. He remembered the first time he stared into those chocolate brown eyes. He could just stare into them for… well, forever. He captured her lips for a split second before pulling back to look at her eyes again._

"_Kikyou… You're beautiful. Did you know that?"_

"_I…" she smiled gently at him and blushed. Even though they had been together for almost a year, it was still moments like these that made her feel like a shy schoolgirl again._

_Inuyasha smirked and leaned down to kiss her again, when suddenly interrupted by Miroku, then Sango, who stormed into the room noisily, yelling about how it was rude to invade a girl's space, or, as Sango called it, her personal "bubble"._

_They stopped in their tracks when they saw Inuyasha and Kikyou sharing a "moment". They quickly broke apart and both flushed a deep cherry red._

_A lecherous smile spread across the monk's face, "Ahhh… I see what you are doing… Well, we'll just leave them to their _business_, won't we, Sango?"_

"_Houshi, you…!!"_

_Inuyasha growled at him and made as if to get up, but before he got to him, Sango had already done the job for him ("You perverted son of a bitch!"). Inuyasha settled back down as the smack resonated throughout the room with a satisfying thump afterwards as Miroku hit the ground._

_Kikyou peered over her pillow at Miroku._

"_Do you think he'll be alright?" she asked. Inuyasha feh'd her, and turned away from the monk lying, on the floor. Nevertheless, Kikyou's heart went out to the monk. She got up and walked over to his still figure and bent down to see if he was alright._

"_Sango!" Kikyou called out, "I think you knocked the poor guy out co-"_

_She stopped in the middle of her sentence as she felt a hand rubbing her backside. Her eye twitched, and she didn't hesitate to punch the monk back into unconsciousness._

_Inuyasha turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow as he heard the monk fall back to the floor._

"_Sango was right. He's a no good son of a-"_

_But before she finished, both Sango and Inuyasha had fallen to the floor laughing._

_End Flashback_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Well, people were saying that the chapters were too short... so I combined chapters 2 & 3. :) isn't that great?

yea, ok... so... R&R?


	4. Depression's Icy Grip

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha_

**.CHAPTER 4.**

**Depression's Icy Grip**

Inuyasha chuckled silently. That perverted monk still groped girls to this day. He seemed especially attracted to Sango's behind, and he suffered from this attraction, all right. _Eh… It seems more than just a small attraction though. Miroku never continuously pursued one girl like he did with Sango… _He sighed. Well, at least they didn't have… problems in their simple grope-and-slap relationship. Problems like the ones he and Kikyou had… or maybe just Kikyou. Sango and Miroku didn't know about Kikyou's everyday sufferings. Inuyasha just couldn't bring himself to tell them about it. _They don't deserve such a heavy burden to carry on their shoulders… _

Inuyasha looked at Kikyou and smiled sadly. She looked so peaceful… so relaxed. He placed his lips to her forehead, to find that the towel didn't help. She was still burning. He ran to soak the towel in cool water again.

After he settled back down beside her bed, he closed his eyes and attempted to get some shut-eye… only to be awoken by the fervent mumblings of Kikyou.

He groaned and got up to fix her blankets and replace her towel with a freshly rinsed one. He was used to taking care of her like this, as he had been spending his nights like this for the past couple weeks. Kikyou's parents didn't care about her. After they found out she was sick, they threw some Tylenol at her, and told her to go fix it herself. And thus, Inuyasha's nightly visits to Kikyou started. She had been going to school less and less frequently, as her condition steadily worsened.

And the cutting. Inuyasha's mind usually wandered off to that subject when his subconscious took over. He couldn't understand how such an innocent soul like Kikyou could even have thought of carrying out such a gross act. He thought his girlfriend was a stable-minded person. Confident. Independent.

_Flashback_

"_INUYASHA!!!!" Rin screamed up at him from downstairs, "HURRY UP AND GET READY!!"_

_Rin was currently dating Inuyasha's brother, Sesshomaru. She often stayed at their place to avoid her abusive parents. She had finished college and was currently in graduate school, but she couldn't afford her own place, as her parents had left her with little savings._

_Since Inuyasha's parents were constantly traveling, Rin acted as a mother figure to Inuyasha; and though she nagged him a lot, the naggings always paid off._

"_I'm uuuuuuupp…" Inuyasha groaned and checked his alarm. 7:40 AM. "FUCK."_

_He was up in a flash. He threw some clothes on, and didn't bother brushing his teeth. He flew down the stairs and grabbed the breakfast Rin had prepared for him. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, grabbed his car keys, and ran out into the snow._

_He arrived at Kikyou's place in record time, probably breaking multiple laws along the way. He honked the horn a couple times impatiently, and prayed she hadn't already left. After a while when she didn't come out, he surrendered his comfortable position in the car to approach her house. Kikyou's mom answered the door and glared at him._

"_What do you want?" she snapped at him._

"_Where's Kikyou?" normally, he wouldn't tolerate her bitchiness, but for now, he sucked it up for Kikyou's sake._

"_Well, you were late, so she walked to school," she replied with a nasty tone. Before Inuyasha could say anything back, she had slammed the door in his face._

_Inuyasha hurried back to his car, cursing the woman along the way. Kikyou could get her death of cold out here in the snow. It took about a half an hour to walk to school, so she'd be late anyway. He wagered that her mom pushed her outside and made her walk anyway._

_He drove slowly along the road to school, ignoring the honks behind him. After a couple minutes, he could make out a small figure in the distance trudging through the snow._

"_Oh, shit… Please don't tell me…" Inuyasha's eyes focused on the lone figure as he sped his car up._

_He pulled up next to the figure, and it slowly turned its head to look at him._

_Inuyasha recognized those eyes at once. Before he knew what he was doing, he was out of the car, and stumbling through the snow towards Kikyou. He reached her just as she collapsed._

_He laid her out on the backseat of his car, and covered her with his jacket. _

_After driving back to his place, he hurried up to his room and placed her frozen body gently on the bed, and kneeling beside her. Panic rose inside him as he fumbled around for something to make Kikyou warm._

_There was a double knock on the door, and he grunted, signaling Rin to come in. She entered with a mini heater. She smiled brightly at him, and, upon plugging the heater in, left Inuyasha and Kikyou alone in his room._

_Inuyasha made a mental note to thank Rin later, and proceeded to speed up the process of reviving Kikyou. He rubbed her cold fingers and hugged her close to his body so they could share his body heat._

_Soon after, she had awoken in the warm and cozy folds of Inuyasha's bed covers. Inuyasha was overjoyed to find that she was okay. They ditched school that day. Just to spend time together, and to talk._

_Unfortunately, attempting to walk to school in freezing weather had its consequences, and Kikyou was no exception. The next day at school, she was sent home with a high fever. Inuyasha was worried, but he was confident that Kikyou was strong enough to fight the sickness, and that she'd be back in school in no time._

_He thought wrong. After weeks of pain, she still hadn't recovered, and she had begun to sink into a depression that even her boyfriend could not lift her out of._

_End Flashback _

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Okiesss... Ditto the other chapter's AN. lawl...

I combined chapters to make a bigger chapter. Hopefully, it's long enough...

R&R:)


	5. First Day Back

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

**.CHAPTER 5.**

**First Day Back**

Kikyou shifted uncomfortably in her sleep, and Inuyasha adjusted her sheets. He was relieved she didn't have another seizure-like attack. It might have been a sign that she was getting better… but Inuyasha was afraid to hope. His hope had been snatched away so many times, that he didn't want it back anymore.

The hours dragged on, and morning finally came. Inuyasha woke up to find Kikyou dressing by the bed.

"Kikyou… What are you doing?" he stood up and made her sit back down, "You aren't well enough to be… to be out of bed."

She stared at him for a moment before replying, "I'm fine. Now, since you're already dressed, why don't you go downstairs and grab a quick breakfast?"

She attempted to smile, but it looked more like a grimace to Inuyasha.

He took one last glance at her before walking out of the room and disappearing down the stairs.

As usual, the kitchen was empty. Kikyou's parents had already gone to work. They didn't know about Inuyasha's constant sleepovers. If they did, mad wouldn't describe half the emotion they'd feel.

He yawned and started frying eggs and toasting bread for the both of them. After he scooped the food into plates, Kikyou walked in the kitchen, and sat down next to him. He touched her forehead with his hand to check on her temperature again. Surprisingly, it was a lot cooler than it was the night before. He gave her medications and sat down to eat. She groggily watched him eat his food, but didn't touch hers.

"Come on, Kikyou," Inuyasha begged through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, "eat some, you'll like it."

She looked at him and smiled, "Thanks, Inuyasha."

He smiled back and resumed eating.

Inuyasha was hesitant to bring Kikyou to school, but she insisted. It did seem like she was a lot better, but Inuyasha didn't want to take any chances. Nevertheless, Kikyou overruled him and soon, they were driving to school in Inuyasha's convertible.

They arrived at school early and got ready for their first period class. The classroom doors were still locked, so they sat down in the empty hallway, and relaxed. Kikyou rested her head on Inuyasha's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Yashia?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad that you're here."

He looked down and kissed the top of her head. They sat in silence, pondering their love relationship.

"Yashia?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you stay by my side… even if it meant pain for you? Why not just leave me alone?" She whispered so he could barely hear her.

And he simply replied: "Because I love you."

"B-but… I'm… I'm so… fucked up… My life, and everything…" tears welled up in her eyes as she looked away in shame.

Inuyasha tilted her chin up with his finger so that she looked directly into his golden eyes.

"Hey… don't say that. No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you, kay? I don't care if you have problems. If you do, I'll help you fix them."

"I-I don't feel like… I deserve you. I feel as if I'm pulling you down with me…" Kikyou pulled away from Inuyasha's grip and face away from him.

"You're not! It is my responsibility as your boyfriend… to make sure you are safe," he said indignantly, "and I would go to the end of the world, if it meant you'd be happy."

"… Inuyasha… You mustn't get too attached to people. This relationship… it could hurt you more than it could hurt me," she said softly.

"What?" Inuyasha shifted positions so his face was level with Kikyou's, "what did you say?'

"I-" she jumped a little as was interrupted by the flow of students rushing in through the doors, "I'll tell you later…"

Inuyasha gave her a weird look, then helped her up and walked her to their first period classroom.

The teacher smiled at Kikyou as she walked in.

"Hello, Kikyou! Good to have you back!" she exclaimed, patting Kikyou on the shoulder.

Kikyou was a good student, and almost every teacher's favorite pupil. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was a rebel.

He disrespected the teachers, didn't pay attention in class, and was sent down to the principal's office. The weird thing was, though he didn't do his homework, and didn't read the textbook, he always excelled on tests. This stumped all of his teachers. They closely monitored him on each and every important exam, but failed to catch him cheating in any way.

"Kikyou! Inuyasha!" Sango and Miroku entered the classroom right before the bell rang.

"Hey guys," Kikyou hugged each of them, "How are you?"

"I was just about to ask you that…" Sango trailed off.

"Where have you been the past… month?" Miroku asked Kikyou.

"I…"

"She was sick, Houshi, you dumbass," Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"For that long?" Miroku prodded on as Sango looked on curiously.

"Long-term sickness," Inuyasha shrugged, then turned his attention to his doodling notebook.

Throughout the whole first period, he switched back and forth between doing tricks with his pencil and doodling. Kikyou was all ears from the beginning of the teacher's lecture. She jotted down notes and nodded to show she understood every time the teacher looked over at her (which was pretty often).

Kikyou would occasionally prod Inuyasha awake, but no matter how much she nagged him about it, he refused to take notes.

"It's a good habit!" she whispered furiously at Inuyasha.

"But I don't wanna!" he whined, sounding like a stubborn toddler.

"You said that you'd do anything to make me happy…" Kikyou said, and smiled a little. That statement was one thing that she could take advantage of…

He groaned, "But even if I didn't do it, you wouldn't NOT be happy!"

She kissed him on the cheek.

"Do it for me anyway?" she pouted a little.

He groaned again. She knew he couldn't resist her pouts.

She took his spiral (which was full of his doodles from previous classes), and flipped to a clean page. She tapped the page with her pencil and pushed it towards him, nodding encouragingly.

He paused, but eventually gave in.

"Alright," he grumbled, "But just for today…"

She smiled again, and he experienced, for the first time in weeks, an indescribable euphoria. She had smiled… because of him! It wasn't a lot… but it was a good start.

After class, they separated into two groups for second period; Inuyasha and Miroku, and Kikyou and Sango.

Once again, Inuyasha was doodling in class. He figured that, without Kikyou there, it would be pointless to take notes.

He thought about Kikyou… about her mysteriously quick recovery. He could still see the partial bags under her eyes from her extreme lack of sleep, but other than that, she seemed to be fine; unlike the terrible condition she was in just the night before. Of course, he was glad she was well enough to come back to school, but it was a little odd for her to be back so soon. Especially right after the state she was in yesterday…

He held onto the thought for a moment longer, but it eventually slipped into the back of his mind. He told himself that he'd come back to it later. He was quite brain dead at the time, and didn't want to think too much.

He constantly glanced at the clock, more impatient than usual to get out. When it finally rang, he was the first out. He sprinted down the hallways, ignoring the countless teachers who yelled at him to walk, and slowed to a walk when he neared Kikyou's classroom. He arrived just in time to see his rival, Kouga, give Kikyou a hug.

"I'm really glad that you're back, Kikyou," he said after he released her from the hug.

"Arigatou, Kouga-sama," Kikyou said respectfully, then started to leave, when Kouga caught her wrist. She turned back and looked at him questioningly.

"Kikyou-" Kouga started, but was interrupted when he was socked in the face by a certain angry hanyou standing behind Kikyou.

Kikyou gasped at the still figure on the ground, and turned quickly around to meet Inuyasha, who was practically shooting sparks from his eyes.

"Inuyasha! Y-you did not!" Kikyou said in horror. She looked back at Kouga, who was slowly starting to regain consciousness.

"I just did," he said bluntly.

Kikyou rushed to Kouga's side, and checked the place where Inuyasha hit him. He opened his eyes and winced at the pain. She helped him up and glared at Inuyasha.

"What was that for, dog turd?" Kouga snarled at Inuyasha.

"You putting your dirty wolf shit hands all over MY girlfriend," Inuyasha growled and took a threatening step towards Kouga.

"So? It's not like I was assaulting her or-"

"Look, wolf breath, I don't want to hear your damn excuses," he advanced a couple more steps toward Kouga, "if I see you so much as LOOK at my girlfriend, I will make sure your BALLS end up where your MOUTH is."

By this time, a crowd had gathered around the three of them, and was eagerly watching with bated breath.

"Who are you to tell me what to do? Back off, jackass!" Kouga snapped back at Inuyasha, and pushed him forcefully to the ground, but he instantly regretted this.

A huge tick mark appeared on Inuyasha's head, and there was a brief moment of silence before Inuyasha jumped up and started roaring at Kouga.

"YOUU! FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT. YOU. WILL. NOT. EVER. TOUCH. ME."

Miroku stepped forward to restrain Inuyasha, but immediately leapt back when Inuyasha turned around and glowered at him.

"TOUCH ME, AND YOU DIE, HOUSHI!"

Inuyasha was in an uncontainable state, and with the crowd around them chanting "fight, fight, fight", he was even more incensed to beat the living daylights out of Kouga.

Kikyou rushed over to Inuyasha and spoke soothing words. He jumped at her touch, but relaxed when he realized it was her.

"Inuyasha, please. Don't do this. It will get you into so much trouble… and it's not worth it," she begged him as she clung onto his sleeve.

Inuyasha glowered at Kouga and closed his eyes in frustration, but slowly backed away. There was booing from the crowd.

He glared at the crowd and they drew back as he said, "What are you looking at?"

The bell rung, and there was a sudden scramble as everyone rushed about gathering dropped books and ran to their classes. Soon, only Inuyasha, Kikyou, Kouga, Miroku, and Sango were left.

Inuyasha massaged his temple and glowered at Kouga before walking back to his locker with Kikyou. She held onto him the whole way

"Yashie? You alright?" came a small voice at his side.

Inuyasha looked down at Kikyou and smiled a little.

"Yeah.. Look, I'm sorry about my anger… I guess…" he paused, "I guess I couldn't stand the site of someone else taking advantage of you…"

Kikyou laughed and slapped him playfully.

"Kouga wasn't taking advantage of me! He was simply welcoming me back!"

"Well, the way he was hugging you… it seemed like it!" Inuyasha fought back.

Kikyou just rolled her eyes.

"Err… Guys! You done yet?" Sango called.

Inuyasha and Kikyou jumped. They had forgotten about their friends.

"We're late to our next class…" Sango said again.

"Very late," Miroku added.

Inuyasha quickly pulled the materials for his next class out of his locker and slammed it shut. The four friends hurried down the hallway and burst into the classroom.

All heads turned to the four, and waited on their excuse.

"Is there a reason why you are late?" the teacher asked looking at them through her spectacles.

Kikyou stepped forward and cleared her throat, announcing, "We're very sorry, Nariko-sama, we were delayed by…the crowd. It won't happen again."

Behind her back, she signaled her friends not to talk.

The teacher raised an eyebrow at Kikyou, looking at her sincere face and contemplating her truthful words. She sighed.

"Alright, Kikyou. I will let it go… but just this time."

Kikyou walked to her seat, and glanced at Inuyasha.

His eyes twinkled with amusement. He could always count on Kikyou to get them out of trouble with a teacher.

'Teacher's pet,' he mouthed at her. She responded with a flick of her hair, and turned her attention back on the teacher.

The next couple periods went by smoothly. Inuyasha had no more encounters with Kouga, though he suspected that Kouga was purposely avoiding him in the halls between classes.

They met Sango and Miroku at the usual spot they ate at in the cafeteria. It was still too cold to eat outside. Kikyou didn't feel that she could stomach cafeteria food, so she just bought a drink and sipped it while she watched everyone else eat. They ate in silence, not knowing what to say.

_Hmmmm…_ Miroku glanced mischievously to the right where Sango was sitting. He inched closer. She didn't seem to notice. He scooted a couple more inches toward her, so that she was within easy reach. Nobody noticed the lecherous monk's hand reach out…

SLAP

Inuyasha and Kikyou looked up to see Sango's hand raised and Miroku smiling guiltily.

Everyone started cracking up at Sango.

"HAha!" Inuyasha held his stomach, "Well, that sure broke the awkward silence."

"Yeah," Kikyou agreed, "Why _were_ we sitting in awkward silence anyway?"

Miroku shrugged.

"Guess we all feel dead today… After all, it IS a Monday."

"Yeah, I PREFER the awkward silence to you groping me, you _pervert_," Sango growled menacingly at Miroku, and slapped away his inching hand.

"But Sango, babycakes, my hand is addicted to you!" Miroku whined and moved closer to Sango.

"I'm NOT your babycakes, " Sango pushed him away and stalked off angrily.

"You know, Miroku…a way to a girl's heart is not by constantly groping her," Kikyou said to him.

"Ah, leave him be, Kikyou. His cursed right hand can't help it," Inuyasha smirked.

"If only…" Miroku had a lost look in his eyes. Inuyasha guided Kikyou away from the table, leaving Miroku to his own thoughts.

Inuyasha managed to get through the rest of his classes without getting yelled at a teacher for falling asleep or slacking off. After the last bell, he packed and dashed to Kikyou's locker. Before she had a chance to say anything to him, he whisked her off the floor, and carried her, bridal style out of school.

"Oh yeah! Freedom at lastt…" Inuyasha yelled gleefully.

Kikyou turned bright red and wriggled around in his arms.

"Inuyasha!" Kikyou said, appalled, "People are staring!"

"Let them stare, love," he replied huskily, "for all that matters, is you and me."

He leaned down and pecked her on the lips right in the middle of school grounds, then started running, with her still in his arms.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Whew! This is prolly the longest chapter I've written so far.

Ok, PLEASE tell me if this is dragging. I've writing for like, EVER about this, and I seriously think it's getting boring. TT

THANK YOU, ALL REVIEWERS. Rlly appreciate it.

Oh, and some of you have been wondering when I'm going to add Kagome in the story... -.-;;; If you're not the patient type, then maybe you shouldn't read this story.. XD ehehe... I'm not really working at any pace. I add/take out characters whenever I feel like it... XD sooo.. yeah. Just wait and see what surprises are in store for you o

But I'm guessing she'll come in play Chapter 9-10-ish. Just an guesstimate...

Anyhoo, R&R, ploxx. :) XD


	6. Quixotica

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

**.CHAPTER 6. **

**Quixotica**

By the time Inuyasha arrived at Kikyou's house, he was quite tired.

_Man, I'm outta shape_, he thought to himself. He looked down at Kikyou to see that she had fallen asleep, so he silently entered her bedroom through the window, and carefully laid her down on the bed.

He took one last look at her peacefully sleeping form before jumping out the window. He landed deftly on the snowy ground below, and ran back to his place.

Rin looked up from her work as he entered from the foyer.

"Hey, Inuyasha," she smiled at him, "want anything to eat or drink?"

"No thanks," he smiled back and gave her a hug.

He took the steps two at a time, and barged into his room. He flung himself down onto the bed, and closed his eyes.

_Peace… At last._

He smiled at the thought that Kikyou was back. After so many restless nights… she had finally recovered enough to attend a full day of school. The endless days of torture he spent by her bed, coaxing her to eat and drink, and fetching her countless pain relievers, had paid off.

_But there's still the part about her suspiciously quick recovery… I wonder what's been going on with Kikyou... Guess this is a change for the better… I hope she doesn't become sick again just as quickly._

Days passed, and Kikyou's dark period faded away into the past. Her eyes regained their twinkle, and she had her wonderful, full laugh back. The days turned into weeks, and it became apparent that Kikyou had won the battle for her health. She had a fit body and kept a nutritious diet.

By the time March had arrived, the temperature had jumped nearly 50 degrees. Spring was in the air, and everyone was egging the spring spirit on. People were already starting to play soccer and football outside with tees and short-shorts.

It was a Saturday morning, and Inuyasha got up early. The spring festival was in a couple hours, and he had cleared all of his plans to spend the day with Kikyou. He dressed up in a casual muscle shirt with baggy cargo pants. He jumped out the window, and decided to take a small walk before picking Kikyou up.

The sun shined brightly through the clouds, creating an optimistic atmosphere. The faint breeze tickled his sensitive dog ears as they twitched in annoyance at the constant twittering of birds. He shoved a cap on his head, and swiped at the birds in the nearest tree. The twittering ceased for a split second before it started up full volume again.

He cursed at the birds and started running towards Kikyou's house. He liked the feeling of being able to run without the wind biting his cheeks. In this kind of weather, he was free… Free to do his bidding.

Inuyasha knocked on his girlfriend's door, hoping that her parents wouldn't be the ones to greet him at the door. The door opened a crack and he saw a big brown eye stare at him. He sighed in relief as Kikyou opened it all the way. She smiled at him.

"Hey Yashia," she hugged him.

"Hey, you," he said gently, "ready to go?"

"Not yet, hold on a sec."

She disappeared back into the house and came back with her purse and a thin jacket.

Inuyasha eyed at the jacket.

"Kikyou… It's 70 degrees outside!" he laughed, "Do you really need that jacket?"

"Just in case it gets chilly later on… Better safe than sorry!" she rolled her eyes.

"Welll… you have me and my body heat," he joked.

She giggled and slapped his chest. He hugged her close to him, and guided her away from her house.

"The festival hasn't started yet…" he said, "wanna go and grab a bite to eat or something?"

"Sure."

She gave a small squeal as he suddenly lifted her off the ground and took off in the direction of the town square.

There was a new café that had just opened in the square called Quixotica. Kikyou took one look at the place and fell in love with it. It was a rather small place, but it looked cozy. A warm current of air rushed against their faces as they entered, and a waitress with a cheery face was there to greet them.

"Hello, welcome to Quixotica," she paused to wait for them to adjust to the environment, "My name is Ayame, and I'll be serving you today. Would you like a table for two?"

Kikyou smiled at the friendly waitress and nodded her head.

There were several lumpy looking sofas spread out all over the middle of the café and high stools set up near the windows. It was, indeed a cozy place. A couple people were scattered throughout the room, sipping their hot drinks and chatting. There didn't seem to be much business in the morning.

"Would you be content here in our main room, or would you like to visit our special AquaRoom?" Ayame the waitress spoke again.

Kikyou looked confused.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ayame giggled a little, "I must have forgotten to explain… Follow me, please."

Inuyasha looked at Kikyou with a raised eyebrow. She just rolled her eyes and proceeded to walk after their waitress.

Ayame led them into a pitch black room. Kikyou looked around nervously and jumped when Ayame clicked on the light switch. She felt a rumbling and instinctively grabbed onto Inuyasha. She buried her face into his arm and stayed very still. He smirked and put a comforting arm around her.

The lights suddenly clicked on and the AquaRoom glowed blue. She heard Inuyasha gasp, and looked up. She was shocked by what she saw.

The AquaRoom appeared to be a mini aquarium inside of the café. Glass covered three sides of the walls in room. Behind the glass walls, schools of exotic fish swam by. It wasn't a vast room, it seemed as thought it could only seat 4 or 5 couples, but it was absolutely beautiful. The couple watched as the fish swam back and forth.

"Whoa… How did you guys…? What did you…?" Inuyasha spoke the words in Kikyou's mind.

Ayame giggled again.

"I take it you guys like it? It's a new idea, and you are the first couple to try it out," she went up to the table closest to a side of the aquarium, and patted it, "Please, sit down. I'll be back in a few minutes with your menus."

With that said, she walked out the door of the AquaRoom.

Kikyou sat down and looked at Inuyasha. He was staring at the fish go by, and jumped when a huge dolphin swam by. Kikyou laughed at him, and patted the seat next to her.

"Come on, Yashia… sit down," she said.

Inuyasha finally tore his eyes away from the aquarium and went to sit down to Kikyou.

"What a swell place," he said softly, still in awe. He laid back and put his arms around her.

"Here're your menus," Ayame said from behind them, "Just give me a ring when you're done."

She pointed to a small button at the edge of the table that they hadn't noticed before.

Kikyou opened the coffee colored menus and looked down the list of drinks. There were many items she had never heard of before. She chose a drink called "Amorous Delight" for the two of them.

The drink came almost instantly.

"If you need anything else, just ring me," Ayame smiled, and walked off.

Inuyasha sat there looking at the drink in disgust. The liquid was pink and had heart candies inside it. It was also decorated by several tropical fruits.

He poked at the frothy drink with his straw.

"Is this stuff edible?" he asked incredulously.

Kikyou rolled her eyes and 'duh'ed him.

She gulped down a whole mouthful of the drink in and he gasped loudly. She pushed him a little.

"It's actually pretty good… Why don't you give it a try?"

"But… but…" Inuyasha eyed the drink, then took a cautious sip. He gagged as the drink went down his throat.

"Yuk! What'd they put in this drink?" he pushed it away, then scooched toward Kikyou. He lightly kissed her on the cheek, and she giggled, and laid her head on his shoulder. They both watched the fish in the enormous tank swim back and forth.

Suddenly, a human head popped out from among the fish. Kikyou's eyes widened and she slid off the loveseat to get a closer look at it. The person was enveloped in a misty haze, and he (or she) waved, and put a hand on the glass. Kikyou put her hand on the glass as well, and felt a sudden chill run down her spine. She looked into the red pupils of the eyes behind the mask. They were masculine eyes. The eyes winked at her, and she quickly retracted her hand from the glass. The person stared at her for a moment longer before quickly swimming away, disappearing into the back aquarium.

Kikyou stared blankly at the spot where the guy was a couple minutes before. She felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around to see Inuyasha looking at her with a furrowed brow.

"What's wrong?"

"There was a g-guy in the tank…!"

Inuyasha frowned.

"Well, I didn't see him…" he shook his head, "Kikyou, baby, are you hallucinating?"

Kikyou stared at the tank, looking past the fish, and into the darkness.

"But I could've sworn…" she trailed off and kept looking at the tank.

The door to the AquaRoom burst open, and Ayame stood there smiling brightly at them.

"Enjoying the aquarium, I see."

"Yes…" Kikyou turned to look at the girl, "Are there people in this tank? I mean, do you allow them to just… swim in here?"

Ayame looked confused.

"No, we don't, ma'am… Did you see… people?" she asked.

"I… no," Kikyou shut her mouth. There was an awkward silence.

Ayame shifted uncomfortably.

"Er… By the way, have I seen you guys somewhere? You look very familiar," she attempted to start a conversation.

"Maybe… We go to Shikon High. Ever heard of that place?" Inuyasha led Kikyou back to their loveseat.

Ayame stared at him with wide eyes, then threw back her head and laughed.

"Ahahaa! That's why you look so familiar! I go to Shikon High too! I must have seen you two somewhere in the halls…"

"Maybe…" Inuyasha smiled at her.

Kikyou was still staring off into space, oblivious to all that was going on around her.

"Oi, Kikyou," Inuyasha nudged her, "you still there?"

She snapped out of her daze and looked at Inuyasha.

"Argh… what?"

"Nothing.. Just making sure you were still with us."

"Oh…"

There was another extended period of silence.

"Sooo… are you guys going to the festival today?" Ayame piped up.

Inuyasha checked his watch.

"Oh, shhh…"

"Is it time to go?" Kikyou looked over his shoulder, "Ahh… wow. Didn't realize that we were here for such a long time. We'd better get going."

She tugged at Inuyasha's sleeve, and they started walking out of the room.

"Nice meeting you guys," Ayame called after them, "I'll see you at the festival!"

"'Bye!" Kikyou called back.

Ayame turned back to the table and saw the still full drink on the table. There was money next to it. The couple had tipped her almost 50! She shook her head and laughed.

_Wow… Either they're really nice, or they over-tipped by accident._

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Erm.. Sorry I haven't updated in like... a WHILE. I was busy in New Jersey :)

Yeahh.. and I was also busy when I came backk... sooo yea. Track meets are starting and all... So that takes even more time off my hands...XD mmhmm... might not be updating as often.. le gasp

ANYhoo, just a reminder for those who hate to wait... The InuXKag part of this fanfic will come around chapter 10. :) sooo stay tuned... if you're patient.. ;.;

R&R? you know you want to...


	7. Not so Festival Festivities

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

**.CHAPTER 7.**

**Not So Festival Festivities**

It was almost four when they joined the festival. It was actually more like a carnival. There were a bunch of booths with mini games, and the school managed to set up a Ferris wheel. It was a bit small, but a sturdy, working Ferris wheel.

"What are you waiting for?" Inuyasha poked Kikyou, "Let's go!"

He dragged her to several booths, but at times, it was as if she was on auto pilot. She was there, physically. But her mind seemed somewhere else… Someplace far away.

They were just leaving their fourth booth when a familiar voice called them from behind.

"Hey Kikyou! Inuyasha!"

Someone jumped on Kikyou from behind.

"Hey, Sango," Kikyou smiled.

"Hey yourself! Where've you guys BEEN? We've been looking all over the place for you!" Sango panted, slightly out of breath.

"Haha… Well, we arrived just half an hour ago… and the committee has done a pretty good job setting this place up. It's huge," Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm SO glad I found you guys… That stupid monk was groping me again. He said that my ass felt like riceballs," Sango rolled her eyes, "damn, I hit him good and hard for that one."

Inuyasha roared with laughter.

"That lecher. He'll never learn…" he paused, "Speaking of which… where is that dorkwad?"

Sango smiled mischievously and said, "Follow me."

She led them to the dunking booth and there was Miroku, sitting high atop the ledge right above the pool of water. He appeared to be sleeping, but the huge lump on his head gave Kikyou and Inuyasha a good idea of what REALLY happened.

Kikyou giggled.

"Sango, how'd you ever get him up there?"

"I volunteered him," she said matter-of-factly.

Kikyou burst out laughing, all her troubles forgotten. They all stood by to watch as Kouga walked up to the booth, beanie bag in hand. For once, Inuyasha didn't walk up to Kouga and start an argument. He wanted to see to it that Miroku got dunked.

Kouga's closed one eye and concentrated on the target. His aim was straight and true. It hit the middle of the board, and down Miroku went.

He hit the water with a big splash, and came gurgling up a few moments later. He stared at the people around him in confusion and caught site of his friends laughing on the ground a few steps away. He felt a sudden stabbing pain at the top of his head, and raised his hand to feel it. He felt an enormous bump on his head, and everything came rushing back to him.

He heaved himself up and out of the freezing cold water, and stomped in the direction of his friends. He ignored the laughter. _They are laughing WITH you, Miroku, not AT you… _He told himself.

"Sangooo," Miroku whined, "Why did you have to go and do THAT?"

"Well, haha, you see…" her voice was bubbling over from mirth.

But quite suddenly, she stopped laughing, and her face turned a familiar purple.

"Miroku, dear," Sango said in a quiet voice, "I thought that you learned your lesson."

She smiled sweetly at Miroku, which took everyone by surprise. Miroku knew better, though, and braced himself for the peak of Sango's anger. He tensed himself, and got ready to run for it.

"I thought that I told you NOT TO EVER, EVER, EVER," Sango stopped to catch her breath, "GROPE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!"

She lunged at Miroku and tackled him down before anybody could do anything about it.

Kikyou looked at the two rolling on the ground. _Ahh… They're so cute together!_She giggled then held onto Inuyasha's arm, pointing to the people that were starting to gather around the fighting pair.

"What a spectacle they're creating," Inuyasha muttered, then covered Kikyou's eyes with his hands.

"Hey!" Kikyou laughed and pushed his hands away, "I'm old enough to watch this!"

"It's rated R for violence!" Inuyasha said sternly and covered her eyes again.

Kikyou sighed and pouted.

"Come on, Kikyou, let's get outta here…" Inuyasha pulled her away from the crowd just as Sango noticed that they were being watched by almost half the school. She stopped beating the already beaten down Miroku, and glared at the crowd.

"What're YOU lookin' at?" she growled.

A few people giggled, and Sango looked down, and realized that she and Miroku were in a… sensual position. She quickly scrambled off of him and blushed madly.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha had pulled Kikyou far from the activity, and into a secluded area at the edge of the festival. Kikyou looked at him questioningly.

"Haha… Sango will be SO pissed when she finds out we ditched her," Inuyasha sniggered.

They were silent for a while, then Kikyou spoke.

"Alright, Inuyasha, spit it out. What'd you drag me here for? I know there's a reason."

"…Well…" he stopped to think. "I think that… that there's something bothering you."

"What makes you think that?

"Well, I mean… You've been so distant today. Did… did I do something wrong?" Inuyasha looked nervously at Kikyou, and held her hands in his.

She thought back to the person in the aquarium. _Ahh… Probably just imagining things…_She thought to herself and chuckled. _Maybe I shouldn't have stayed up all night studying for that big exam coming up…_

"Of course not, Inuyasha."

She reached her arms around him and gave her a hug. Then pulled back to look at him. She gave him a sweet kiss, and was about to pull back again, when he leaned into her, deepening the kiss. She giggled into his mouth, and continued kissing him. His tongue brush her lips at the same time she felt something brush against her back. She shuddered.

Kikyou broke their passionate kiss and whirled around. There was nothing.

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha had a concerned look on his face.

"Nothing… I just thought I-"

Kikyou cut herself off as she felt those cold fingers brush against her again. Her eyes widened and she pushed her face into Inuyasha's chest. He was confused, but held her tight anyway.

The chill ran up her spine, and enveloped her body, even as she felt Inuyasha's warmth. His warmth wasn't enough. The cold was overpowering it. She shivered madly as her body temperature started dropping rapidly. She felt the cold nails dig into her and screamed out in pain and agony as it stabbed at her, and took away the rest of her body heat. Kikyou body finally gave away, and slumped into Inuyasha's arms.

Inuyasha looked down at her, and squeezed her limp body.

"Kikyou?" he whispered gently into her ear. She didn't respond. He felt her forehead. It was freezing cold. He was scared. Scared for her life. He didn't know why, she had recovered quite a while ago… he thought.

Why this sudden outbreak?

He didn't think. He didn't want to think. And so, without thinking, he lifted her body up off the ground, and started running. For her life.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

First of all, I would like to THANK ALL OF MY CURRENT REVIEWERS... and also thank all the other ones in advance :)

yeahh.. so I'm making progress... I know I haven't updated in a while, but it's hard to... and I think the story's slipping from my grasp... darn. I need to finish this one fanfic or my head will blow up... XD

Anyway... time for my traditional...

_R&R, ploxx:)_


	8. A Lost Battle

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

**.CHAPTER 8.**

**A Lost Battle**

He didn't know where his feet would carry him. He just ran. The fastest he had ever run in his whole life.

Soon, he had arrived at the hospital, and was slowing down. His heart pounded inside his chest, and he felt dizzy. He chanced a glance at Kikyou. Her face was a little scrunched up, probably in pain. Inuyasha winced. He instantly regretted how carelessly he had held her as he ran.

A nurse came rushing to him. All it took was one look at Kikyou to understand the situation at hand. Inuyasha helped her set Kikyou on a roller and ran alongside her as she rolled Kikyou down the hallway to the ER.

She was rolled into a room, and he was denied entrance, despite the piercing glares and rude outbursts he constantly shot at the passing nurses and doctors. After quite a while, a doctor came out of Kikyou's room and sat down next to him. Inuyasha looked at him and opened his mouth to make a furious statement when the doctor held up one hand, signaling Inuyasha to shut up before he even began speaking.

The doctor cleared his throat.

"Do you have any relation to that young woman?" he nodded towards the room Kikyou had been rolled into.

"No," Inuyasha said, but added on, "but I'm her boyfriend!"

"I see… Well… I did a thorough examination on her, and the only thing that seems to be the problem is her body temperature. It is way below the norm, and dropping more every second we talk. I have already taken measures to… help the situation."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at the doctor, scrutinizing him as if trying to find a hidden expression on the doctor's face. When he could find none, he gave up and resumed staring at Kikyou's door.

"Can I go in?"

"I'm sorry, but hospital has certain restrictions-"

Inuyasha jumped up and towered over the doctor, "Look, you great buffoon, my girlfriend is DYING in there!!! I should be allowed to at least SEE her. To give her comfort at her time of need! Ever heard of that? Or maybe you're just as cold and heartless as the rest of the bastard doctors here."

The doctor stood there silently. He didn't appear to be shaken by Inuyasha's temper; probably well-practiced in handling and dealing with patients' friends and family from previous events similar to the one he was currently in.

"We have reasons-"

He was cut off once again as Inuyasha walked away and attempted to get through the door to Kikyou.

"Wait! You can't do that!" the doctor ran after him.

Inuyasha turned around, already halfway through the door.

"Watch me," he said coldly, and disappeared through the doorway.

He looked around the room. There were other patients being tended to by various nurses, but Kikyou was no where to be found. Before Inuyasha could do a more extensive search of the room, the doctor he had been talking to a few seconds before burst through the door with some burly looking security guards and dragged him back out the door.

Inuyasha struggled to get out of the guards' grasps, but he didn't have the strength in him anymore. He stopped trying after a while and let them drag him away from the room where he had been so sure Kikyou was in. She WAS rolled into that room, after all… This must had something to do with the "measures" the doctor had to take. Inuyasha lashed out at one of the guards, and was dropped to the floor as the guard let out a shocked yell and let go of him. Inuyasha broke free, and ran from them. They attempted to grab him again, but Inuyasha clawed at them with his "deadly" hanyou nails.

"Don't TOUCH me," he snarled and left the guards on the floor, scrambling around in confusion.

He used his excellent sense of smell to detect Kikyou's scent. It led him to a ward in the hospital used for recovering patients. She had probably been relocated to many different rooms already.

He approached her sleeping form cautiously, not wanting to wake her up. He held her hand, and looked at her. Wanting, yet not wanting her to open her eyelids and smile at him.

To give him encouragement.

To boost his strength.

For at that moment, just looking at her small, and once again, weak body, made him feel powerless. She didn't awake, but her chest continued to rise and fall; a sign that she was still alive. This spurred Inuyasha on, and he gripped Kikyou's hand tighter.

Time passed, and Inuyasha stayed by Kikyou's side. He wouldn't… couldn't… move from his spot next to her bed. He kept his eyes trained on her at all times, and constantly mumbled under his breath.

_Wake up… wake up… wake up…_ He thought the same things over and over again, as if she could receive his telepathic messages.

Inuyasha sat and waited (_for what, exactly? _Inuyasha thought to himself) for what seemed like a millennium. He paced the room, restlessly, constantly glancing back at the bed where Kikyou lay, resting.

Nightfall brought on a frustrated hanyou in the hospital room. He decided to take a short break, and go outside. He sneaked past the guards and hopped up into a tree. A very tall tree. He picked a comfortable branch, and sat down, contemplating this unfortunate situation.

_How can she have gotten sick again?_

He made up his mind that when she healed, he would ask her questions. There had to be something in her past that was connected to these sudden bouts of sickness. Something that brought them…

Inuyasha suddenly realized that she had never really told him about life events that happened before she was transferred to Shikon High. Her past remained completely unknown to him. Mysterious… Dark, even.

He sighed, and promised himself that when Kikyou healed, he'd find out… He'd find out all about it. A forbidden thought stole across his mind._What if she doesn't heal…?_

A look of fear flitted across his face before it was replaced with his typical masked expression. He snorted. _Stupid thoughts._

After relaxing for a bit longer, he jumped off the tree, sneaked past snoozing security, and slipped safely back into Kikyou's room. But he turned around to find that the bed she was in… was empty!

_What the…?!_

He instantly ran to the window beside her bed. He was certain she had gone through the window, for her smell lingered near it. But if she had… she wouldn't have survived the fall. Her window was 3 stories up, and she had a weak body to begin with.

He opened it, and saw the tree he had been sitting in minutes before. He would have seen Kikyou if she jumped out the window… His brow furrowed in confusion as he tried to sort out the clues. _Somebody could've…_

_Somebody! That's it! She was… kidnapped? _Inuyasha's ears picked up the sound of a distant scream. _Kikyou!! I'm coming…_

He took a big breath, and leapt out the window. He landed on all fours, with the soft grass padding his fall, and lessening the shock of impact.

In a nanosecond, he was up and running towards where he thought the scream came from, his dog senses reaching out, straining to catch Kikyou's scent or sounds.

Inuyasha heard a rumble from above, and looked up to see the dark clouds starting to stir up a storm.

_Oh, fucking perfect!!_

He let out a string of colorful curses and continued running full speed.

There was another scream. It was closer this time.

The clouds opened up, and gray droplets started, almost instantaneously, to pound down on the ground. Within a few seconds, Inuyasha was soaked completely through, but that didn't stop him. It drove him on. He had the speed, the endurance, the power.

Inuyasha's ears perked up to a third scream. This time, he could hear what the voice was screaming.

"Please! Don't… don't…" it was sobbing. It was coming from behind a cluster of trees.

He confirmed that this was Kikyou's voice. He elbowed his way through the branches, and came to a small clearing. There, he saw Kikyou, alone, on her knees. She appeared to be begging someone… or something. Inuyasha couldn't see a single soul but her. _Delusional... she is…_

He ran to her side, and picked her up. Her skin was ice cold through her soaking wet hospital gown. She was shaking so violently, that her tremors shook Inuyasha as well. She choked out a few more pleas before she fell prey to an attack from her own body. Coughs wracked through her, causing painful spasms.

Inuyasha held her close, trying to get warmth, any form of warmth to her, and started running back to the hospital at top speed. He looked down. She was saying something.

"Inuyasha… Inu…" she whispered. He could barely hear her, but his alert hanyou ears picked it up. "S-stop… Stop running… Listen to me."

"What?!" he yelled over the thunder and rain. _Did she just tell me to…???_"We have to get you back to the hospital!!"

"Inuyasha…please, stop…" she pleaded weakly.

He looked down at her through the whipping rain… or was it his tears? He couldn't tell.

His heart ached, and told him to run back to the hospital, to get help. To save Kikyou. A miracle was going to happen… But his mind took a more rational approach. He knew that it was over. Somewhere deep inside him was the truth. He dug that truth up, forcing himself to realize it, to acknowledge it. It was hard. The hardest thing he ever had to do. But his will was made of iron.

He obeyed Kikyou, and stopped.

She smiled sadly at him, and brought out, from the pocket of her hospital gown, a small pink orb attached to a string. She took the string, and fastened it around Inuyasha's neck. It took her several tries before her fumbling fingers finally found the clasp, but after it clicked in place, she sighed in satisfaction. She put her arms around Inuyasha and gave him a final, parting kiss. It was short, but sweet. Passionate and loving, but filled with melancholy.

After she pulled back, she took her final breath, and departed the world, entering into an eternal slumber.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Yeshhh.. I know what you all are thinking... I have FINALLY killed Kikyou...

Yup.. now how to introduce someone new... :)

And if you were wondering.. yesh, this is probably gonna be a cliché story... :P only cuz it's my first fanfiction, though. :)

R&R, please? Thanks in advance... ;D


	9. Kikyou's Gift

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

**.CHAPTER 9.**

**Kikyou's Gift**

Throughout the whole process, Inuyasha stood stock-still. It was as if he had no control over his body, as if he had been numbed… by shock.

He stood there for a while longer, eyes wide, breath held, before it finally dawned on him what had happened. He felt a sharp pain somewhere near his heart, and he clutched his chest, dropping to the wet grass with Kikyou's dead body still in his arms.

The rain had stopped, but he didn't notice until he started feeling again. The clouds above had rolled away, leaving a clear night sky. The moon shone brightly and stars hung around it, twinkling…They winked with no eyes, and laughed with no voices, almost mocking the broken hanyou, bent over the dewy, quivering grass.

"My work here… is done," a cold voice said softly.

Inuyasha snapped up his head, but there was no one but him. He heard a faraway laughter. Chilling to the bone. He looked around, but couldn't seem pinpoint where the laughter came from. It was all around him. Omnipresent. Bouncing off the insides of his ears and driving him to the brink of insanity.

He covered his ears and screamed, trying to drown out the laughter, but could still be heard over his pained screams, increasing in volume. Everything in his mind was jumbled up. He heard laughter, he felt pain, he tasted metal, he smelt blood, he saw red.

He clawed at the ground furiously, willing it to stop, trying to push away the person… no, the _thing_ that inhabited his body. His hands briefly brushed against the forgotten orb that Kikyou had given him. As soon as his skin touched the orb, it was as if a flame ignited within him. He was a new person… No, he was the same person… just ten times stronger. He could feel the power emanating from the small orb.

He stood up to face the presence that was smashing into him from all sides.

And suddenly, the laughter ceased.

Inuyasha felt the presence being torn from his mind. The echoes of the laughter died down, and the fresh tastes and smells he had experienced so vividly moments before were gone.

He was left, panting from the exertion. The orb still glowed a bright pink, but the energy was sucked out of Inuyasha's body, and the flame inside him was extinguished. He collapsed into a heap on the ground next to Kikyou's body.

The glow of the orb around his neck grew until it enveloped both him and Kikyou._We're in safe hands…_he thought wearily, then he passed out.

Inuyasha awoke in a warm bed. His head pounded and when he tried to sit up, it hurt even more.

_Shit… My fucking head… I can't remember anything…_

He tried desperately to remember something, anything. But the last thing he remembered was finding out that Kikyou was missing…

A nurse walked into the room.

"Hello," she said, and smiled at him, "How are you feeling?"

"What happened?" he answered her question with a question.

"You haven't answered my question," her smile grew wider.

"I'm fine," he said irritably, already starting to dislike the artificially happy nurse, "Now answer MY question."

She raised an eyebrow at him as if challenging him.

"Please," he added.

She sighed. No use holding back, anyway.

"We found you on the ground near the hospital. You were completely knocked out, so we brought you in."

"H-how long was I asleep for?" he choked out.

"Two hours," she replied curtly.

He gawked at the wasted time. And suddenly, the memories that he had lost came rushing back to him. The horrible laughter and how he had overcome the menacing presence with the help of the little gift Kikyou had given him.

His hand flashed instinctively to his neck, and he breathed a sigh of relief when it brushed the half orb that still hung around it.

"Kikyou! Where is she??" he demanded, and attempted to sit up again.

"Kikyou?" the nurse blinked in confusion.

"My girlfriend!" Inuyasha yelled at the nurse.

"How am I supposed to know who your girlfriend is?" she hollered back and stomped off in a huff.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"No respect to patients these days…" he muttered under his breath and cursed the nurse.

He managed to push himself up and get out of bed without any help. He stumbled to the doorway, where he was greeted by another nurse.

"Mr. Takahashi!" she looked surprised, "you should be resting in bed."

She smiled at him – a genuine smile – and led him back to the bed.

"Where's Kikyou?" Inuyasha said automatically.

"Kik-? Oh! She was wheeled in just today, correct? The one with that… terrible cold, I think…" the nurse trailed off, looking troubled.

"What happened?" Inuyasha put his hands on the nurse's shoulders and shook.

"I… Was she a close friend of yours?" the nurse asked.

"What happened?" Inuyasha asked again.

"She… passed away.. just two hours ago, in her bed," the nurse looked away, "I'm sorry…"

Inuyasha looked confused. _In her bed? But she couldn't have… I'm pretty sure I was holding her when she died!_

"She wasn't outside with me? I mean, next to me."

"No…" the nurse frowned at him.

"Are you sure? She wasn't lying next to me when you found me two hours ago?"

"No…"

"Wh-where is she now?"

"She… her family is here. They were here with her the last moments of her life."

_No they weren't!_ He wanted to scream at her. _**I**__ was! __**I**__ was… I always had been there for her…._

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, and sat for a while in silence before getting up and pushing past the nurse.

"Where are you-?" the nurse started after him.

"I want out of this damn hospital!"

"Mr. Takahashi, you can't just- I mean, you…" the nurse stuttered, "you need rest!"

"Bite me," he growled, and forced open the door, banging it shut behind him with so much force that the nurses two floors above him jumped and stared at the floor, wondering what on earth could be causing the ruckus. Eventually, they just shrugged and gave it up for another careless newbie nurse who had lost control of the gurney and smashed into a wall.

Inuyasha ran savagely down the hallways of the hospitals, causing chaos to erupt wherever he went (woe to anyone who was in his way). He bumped into the doctor who had treated Kikyou earlier.

"Why hello there! Inu… Inugasha, was it? I'm sincerely sorry about-"

Inuyasha glared daggers at him, making it clear that he was NOT in the mood to exchange words. The doctor saw this, and shut up, hurrying along his way. Inuyasha continued along the hall until he reached the door out.

Despite his wearied state from the day's earlier events, he ran all the way home. Or, at least, he tried. By the time he had rounded the corner on his street, he was averaging a whopping half a mile per hour. He walked – more like staggered – through the threshold of his house blearily, ignoring Rin's constant questions, but welcoming her motherly fusses.

"Inuyasha! What've you- oh. My. God," she stopped dead in her tracks, pointing, in horror at his feet.

He had somehow managed to lose his shoes in the process of his marathon, and so, angry blisters had begun to sprout all over his feet.

"I'm fine," Inuyasha brushed Rin off, not wanting to arise too many pressing questions.

Sesshomaru arrived at the doorway, and leaned against it, raising an eyebrow at Inuyasha.

"What have you gone and done now, my idiotic brother?" he said with a slightly amused look on his face.

"I…" Inuyasha struggled for a reason, any reason, "I went to hang out with my buddies. Ever… ever heard of going to the MOVIES, Fluffy?"

He stared back at his older brother with what he hoped looked like an arrogantly confident look on his face.

His brother looked annoyed at first, probably because of the title Inuyasha had dubbed him. Fluffy. But he quickly covered up the annoyance by laughing.

"Oh, I'm sure. I see going to the movies in a hospital gown is a new trend?" Sesshomaru didn't attempt to hide the mirth in his voice.

Inuyasha looked down to see that he WAS, in fact still in his hospital gown. He had been in such a rush to leave the hospital, that he hadn't even noticed they'd forced him into one. He turned bright red and tried to retain composure.

"For your information, yes, it is. It's the biggest fashion statement of the year!" he said hotly.

"Riighht…" Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and sniggered. Rin started giggling as well.

_Oh, great. Not Rin too…_

Inuyasha shot him a venomous look that could have withered a tree, but Sesshomaru didn't seem to take notice, so the former brother took the chance to dash past the laughing pair and up to his blissfully quiet room.

He flopped down on his bed and closed his eyes. He felt exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. Not with Kikyou haunting his mind. He still couldn't believe that she was gone… forever. Well, not forever. There would always be a little piece of her in his heart. Not to mention in the orb that she'd given him…

Speaking of which… what had happened with the orb earlier? He still couldn't quite grasp the workings of the small jewel. _What is it? Where did it come from? Where did Kikyou get it?_

So many questions to be answered, but no one there to answer them.

Inuyasha dearly wished that Kikyou was there with him. Not only to answer his questions, but just for him to feel her body against his. For him to know there was somebody there for him. A comforting embrace he could fall into… He looked up at the picture on his bedside table. It was one he and Kikyou had taken together at one of those small picture booths. He had one, and Kikyou had the other.

He felt his eyes watering, and he took the small picture frame and threw it over to the other side of the room. It hit his wall, leaving a small dent in the perfect creamy texture. An imperfection.

That didn't make things better, though, so he got up and walked to the frame, and picked it up. He took one look at the cracked frame and let a strangled sob escape his throat.

It was quite ironic, really… that what happened had happened…

_Flashback_

"_Oh, look at that picture booth!" squealed Kikyou as she dragged Inuyasha to it._

_He groaned and slapped a hand across his face (or, did so mentally, for his hands were full). As if she hadn't abused him enough, making lug around ten pounds of shopping bags all around the mall._

_It hadn't helped that she took an eternity to chose each article of clothing to buy, either._

"_Kikyou, please don't-"_

"_Aww… come on Yashia!" Kikyou put on a puppy dog face. Inuyasha just groaned in response, and followed her to the booth._

_They took several pictures, and Inuyasha was virtually a pile of shopping bags for the first couple before Kikyou finally relieved him of the burden by complaining that she couldn't see his face in the picture. The mini photos came out and there was more squealing as Kikyou examined each one. She tore out the two best ones and went to buy the frames. She came back shortly with two pink and frilly heart frames._

_Inuyasha looked at them with disgust._

"_You're not really going to frame our _precious _pictures in THOSE things, are you?" Inuyasha frowned._

"_Yes, I a-"_

_Inuyasha grabbed the frames and trashed them._

"_Hey!" Kikyou glared at him._

"_Hay's for horses," Inuyasha snorted as he walked away from her._

"_Where're you going?" Kikyou called, but he was long gone. She slumped down on the mall bench with a huff, her happy mood quickly deteriorating._

_He returned with two plain-looking circle frames._

"_I'm back, sweetie," he smiled sweetly at her._

_He just "humph"ed and looked away, sticking her nose in the air._

"_You want to put our _precious _pictures in those UGLY, plain circle frames?" she said disdainfully._

"_Well, it makes sense," he said, using her tone right back at her, "A circle symbolizes a full and happy relationship… Because it goes on forever and ever, without a break… unlike a heart. That's why, you know… they use rings in engagements and marriages."_

_An awkward silence followed as Kikyou pondered this statement. She hadn't expected him to say such wise words (wise for Inuyasha, at least). She hadn't even thought of it herself._

_Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably, and smiled the best smile he could manage. He thrust a circle towards her, and to his surprise, she took it, and returned his smile. She started fitting the picture into the frame._

"_Well, then I guess our relationship will last forever and ever… without a break," she chirped, her happy mood back in a flash._

_End Flashback_

Inuyasha placed the now cracked circle frame back on his bedside table. He stared at it with a heavy heart.

_So much for the "forever and ever" part… _he thought mournfully.

He closed his eyes and started to drift into a whole different realm… a realm that brought him away from all of his troubles… _temporarily…_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Whoops... Sorry for the mixup. I accidently uploaded Ch. 9 as Ch. 8... XD

So here's the new Ch. 8! Hope you enjoyed it.. :)

R&R!


	10. The Dream

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

**.CHAPTER 10.**

**The Dream**

_Everything was a hazy mess… Inuyasha could barely see anything… just white, white, and more white._

_He wondered where he was, but for some strange reason, he couldn't speak._

_Suddenly, a hole appeared in the whiteness. He looked on, trying to see what it was._

_The hold grew bigger and bigger until it was bigger than him. He tried to reach out to it, to walk toward it, but found that he couldn't… it was as if he was bound to something. He couldn't move… he couldn't do anything but look._

_A being emerged from the hole, and his head suddenly snapped to look at who – or what - ever just walked out of the hole. He started walking towards the…thing._

_Inuyasha's mind whirled in confusion. He seemed to have no control over his body. Some strange force was controlling it. He panicked, not knowing what to do. He continued to walk. The being was a little blurred, as if it wasn't exactly intact with reality…_

_A mirage, maybe…? Inuyasha's mind wandered. Then again, he wasn't exactly sure if he was in a realistic place._

"_Traveling away from this world, I see…" the being said in a cool voice. It laughed. The laugh sparked a memory in Inuyasha's mind. It was the same, chilling laugh he had been tortured with hours ago… Or maybe not. Who knew if there was even such a thing time in this realm…?_

"_Get out of my way, Naraku," he replied back. Except it wasn't his voice… It was… Kikyou's. Inuyasha was shocked. He was in… Kikyou's body? He hardly dared to believe it._

_He – or Kikyou – started running towards the thing that Kikyou had called 'Naraku'. Inuyasha was trying his hardest not to come close to the terrifying laughter, but he had no control over the body he was sharing with Kikyou._

_She didn't hesitate to barge right into Naraku. Inuyasha felt a searing pain at the shoulder as Naraku slashed off Kikyou's arm with inhuman claws. He heard Kikyou gasp in pain and look down at the bloody stump that was her arm. She continued on toward the hole that was slowly starting to close up._

"_No matter what you do, Naraku, you won't hinder the journey to my final destination. I won't allow you," Kikyou said quietly. There was not a single tremor in her voice. It was strong… confident. A lot more so than Inuyasha felt at the moment._

_She turned her back on Naraku and started running to the hole that was now just big enough to fit her body in. She managed to get to it safely, but halfway through it, Naraku threw a sharp sword at her back that flew, straight and true, right into Kikyou's back, and through her heart. At least, where her heart was supposed to be._

_The pain was unbearable, and for a split second, Inuyasha thought she was going to die… But that didn't make any sense… she had already died. Unless she could die a second time… which was impossible._

_Inuyasha heard an earsplitting scream, one that came from Kikyou's mouth, but correctly represented both their feelings. There was a terrible ripping feeling inside of him, and he felt something being torn painfully away from the body they shared._

_He saw a translucent figure separate itself from Kikyou's body and float away. Then, everything went black. Kikyou stumbled blindly the rest of the way through the hole; Inuyasha felt it brush against the side of Kikyou's body as it closed up behind her._

_Kikyou wasn't moving. Inuyasha had just begun wondering why, when he realized that she wasn't conscious. Maybe the other side of the hole wasn't black, but he wouldn't know… All he was seeing was the back of Kikyou's closed eyelids._

_He thought back to his previous assumption about dying a second time._

_The last thing he felt was the empty, hollow feeling inside him – Kikyou – before he was torn away from her body, leaving her alone once again._

Inuyasha awoke with a start. It took a while for him to realize that he was in his own bedroom… Not in a whole different realm.

_It was all… a dream? _he thought to himself, bewildered. _But it was all so… clear… a lot clearer than most of my dreams._

He shook his head. _Maybe I AM going crazy… that was some fuck of a dream I had back there…_

He decided not to tell anyone about it. All it would do is earn him a smack in the head and/or a visit to the counselor's office. He pushed it to the back of his mind, but couldn't quite brush of the queer feeling that was telling him the events in his dream had really happened. He shuddered to think about it.

"Inuyasha!" Rin called from downstairs, "Inuyasha! Come down…"

"Gimme a couple minutes!" he yelled back.

He grabbed his toothbrush and jumped in the shower, twisting the water handle to the hottest. After a soothing 5 minute shower to cleanse him of the dried sweat and dirt – as well as certain disturbing thoughts – from the day before, he threw on some clothes and dashed down the stairs.

"Yea?" he arrived in the kitchen to find Rin crying and Sesshomaru patting her in a comforting way, and immediately sensed that there was something wrong. He mentally smacked himself. _Well no shit, Einstein… She crying…_

She looked up upon his entrance, and hastily wiped away her tears.

"Oh, Inuyasha! Good morning," she said, attempting a smile, but her voice was a bit muffled, as if she was speaking into a cloth. She sniffed her stuffed-up nose and looked at Inuyasha with red eyes.

"R-rin… What's wrong?" Inuyasha didn't think he had ever seen Rin like this before… Well, maybe once when she read the fake "save the dogs that are being hunted" forward… but other than that, she was always cheerful. Her gloomy mood put him out too.

"Oh, it's nothing, it's-" she burst into tears again. Sesshomaru hugged her close and soothed her.

"Did you know about…" Sesshomaru hesitated, "Kikyou's death?"

Inuyasha had never seen Sesshomaru act so serious, either. He couldn't recall the last time Sesshomaru had said something with a straight face.

"Yeah…" Inuyasha averted his eyes.

"I-I'm s-s-so sorry, Inuyasha!" Rin cried. She ran to Inuyasha, and sobbed into his arms.

Inuyasha jumped a little, as he wasn't expecting this kind of affection from Rin, nor was he in any way prepared to deal with a crying Rin. He patted her back awkwardly.

"It's okay, Rin…"

"I h-had no idea! Wh-when you came home yesterday… I mean… Why d-didn't you tell us?" Rin wailed.

"I… don't want to talk about it," Inuyasha dropped his head, and his white bangs shaded his eyes, so they wouldn't betray his emotions.

Sesshomaru stepped forward and pried the sobbing Rin from Inuyasha's arms. Inuyasha sighed in relief, and quickly retreated outside. He didn't look back, or slow down. Nor did Sesshomaru or Rin go after him.

He arrived at the giant oak tree close to the hospital. He didn't know why he picked this tree, but it helped him think, and that was what he needed to be doing at that moment…

He hadn't really been thinking in depth about Kikyou's death. He wasn't as shocked as he thought he would have been. But Rin's sudden outburst pulled his head out of the clouds and brought him back down to Earth. Earth, where nothing is right… nothing is fair…

He didn't want to deal with it. With all the pressure at school. All the questions.

And most of all, he didn't want to deal with Kikyou's funeral. They'd probably have a huge burial ceremony where all their classmates are invited and whatnot… Kikyou wouldn't have wanted that. She would've wanted a quiet burial. A private one. With only her family and her closest friends there.

Inuyasha was too lazy to jump up into the branches, so he just settled for a grassy spot underneath the budding tree. He felt tired and dizzy. A little light-headed as well. As if he had just boozed up on a couple bottles of beer. He leaned his head against the bark of the tree and fell asleep within seconds.

He slept under the tree for almost the rest of the day. His restless sleep was filled with dreams and nightmares. He forgot most of them, but there was one that he remembered. One that stuck out in his mind like a sword. The dream he had earlier about Kikyou. It was as if that dream had actually happened.

"Inuyasha!! Earth to Inuyaaashaa!" a voice called.

He turned around and saw Sango and Miroku.

"Wh-what?" Inuyasha spluttered, "What the hell are you guys-?"

"Hi to you too," Sango rolled her eyes and continued, "Rin and Sesshomaru started worrying about you… so they called us up to hunt you down, and here you are, taking a NAP under a goddamn tree while they sit at home and worry about you. Nobody knew where you went! You just disappeared for the WHOLE day."

"No I didn't… And they wouldn't worry. I always go off like that," Inuyasha trailed off and looked guiltily at Sango. _Ok, so maybe Rin was worried, but not Fluffy._

Sango just rolled her eyes again and tugged on Inuyasha's shirt, telling him to get up.

"Rin was CRYING over the phone! She sure SOUNDED worried…"

Inuyasha paused. He didn't want them to find out that she wasn't crying over HIM. He didn't know how to break the new to his friends. But they would eventually hear. Events like this somehow find their way into the media's hands.

He sighed and waved her off, staring off to the distance.

She waved a hand over his face.

"Earth to Inuyasha!" she screeched in his ear, "I want you back in the damn house in 5 minutes FLAT, damnit!"

She sounded seriously pissed, so Inuyasha decided not to take any chances. He sighed again, but followed her this time. She had an iron grip on his hand, making sure he didn't try to run off.

"S-sango?" he asked timidly.

"Yes, _hun_?" she turned around and smiled a deceptively sweet smile.

"C-could you… do you think you could loosen your grip on my hands just a tidbit?"

"Of course,_hun_," she emphasized the last word, and loosened her grip – just enough to get the blood flowing back to his fingers. Inuyasha flexed his fingers and winced as he felt invisible pins prick his hand in a million places.

She continued to drag him back to his house, with Miroku trailing along behind them.

When they burst through the front door, Rin, who had been sitting at the table, nervously twiddling her fingers, immediately jumped up and ran to them.

"What happened? Where'd you go? Are you hurt?" Rin bombarded him with questions, looking him up and down to check for injuries.

"Rin, I'm fine," Inuyasha placed his hands on her shoulders, "I'm fine… but are you?"

"Yes, yes, I'm… I'm fine," she gulped, then nervously looked back at Sesshomaru, who just stared back at her with an unreadable expression.

"Inuyasha… we called Kikyou's family…" she paused there, for Inuyasha had flinched at the mention of her name, "they are devastated, and are currently recuperating from this… this terrible loss…"

Inuyasha almost rolled his eyes at that. To be quite frank, Kikyou's family never cared for her. They never really loved her. She didn't deserve such a fucked up family… But it was way too late to change anything now…

"They never –" he started angrily, but was cut off by Rin.

"Listen to me, Inuyasha!" she sounded almost in hysterics. Inuyasha had never seen Rin like this before. He looked over her shoulder and saw his brother, still sitting on the table. Sesshomaru was staring straight at him, his demon-like eyes boring into Inuyasha's head.

Sesshomaru frowned at him, and tilted his head slightly to the side as if he didn't understand what Rin was up to either.

"I'm… I'm sorry… it's just that, this is such a…"

Sango, who had been standing by the sidelines with Miroku finally spoke up.

"Wait, what? What terrible loss? What… what's going on here?" she sounded scared.

Rin's eyes started to tear up again, and Inuyasha took the initiative to explain to his friends.

"Guys… I'm sorry I didn't tell you as soon as this happened. I just… wasn't ready, and all that shit. And I didn't think you could handle this…" Inuyasha took a big breath and faced Sango and Miroku, who were listening intently, "K-kikyou… she passed away yesterday."

Following his words were a few moments of silence during which Sango and Miroku digested this information.

Sango, always the talker, was the first to break the silence.

"This… this isn't some kind of cruel joke?" her voice was piercing, but her face gave her away.

Inuyasha hung his head. He felt overwhelmed already. And he had to break the news to many, many, many more people…

Sango's lip trembled. She grabbed the closest stable thing to her (which just happened to be Miroku) and held on. Miroku was taken aback by this sudden act, but hugged her back. Sango's body collapsed and she almost dragged him down with her, but he recovered just in time to catch her and keep them both from crashing to the floor.

She stayed in Miroku's arms for a while, eyes still wide with shock. Inuyasha didn't lift his head up. Miroku took the news in a more dignified way.

He sat Sango down on the couch and plopped down next to her. (After all, how could he resist a few moments next to her without her screaming, yelling, hitting, kicking, biting, mauling, or killing him?)

Time crawled by, and they all stayed, frozen, unable to move.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Sango stood up. All eyes turned to her.

"I'm going home. I need to… need to think about this," she announced this and dashed out, forgetting to grab her jacket.

Miroku looked at Inuyasha, who didn't return the look.

"Guess I'd better be off…" he said to Inuyasha's bowed head, and patted his friend on the back, "I… really can't express how bad I feel about this in words, mate… But you know, me and Sango will be here for you if you need a shoulder to lean on… just… just know that."

With that, he grabbed Sango's jacket and ran out after her.

As soon as the front door shut, Rin stepped forward, but Inuyasha had had enough sympathy for one day. She opened her mouth, but was silenced when Inuyasha held up a hand. She nodded understanding that he needed time alone. He started to walk off upstairs, but Rin's words halted him.

"One more thing, Inuyasha…" she called after him.

He stood stock-still at the top of the stairs, one hand still on the banister.

"Kikyou's family is having a funeral for her… you are invited, since you are… were her boyfriend," Rin hesitated, "I think they'd love it if you could make it…"

"Ok…" he ignored her correction of the present tense to past tense.

"Really, Inuyasha… consider it, okay?"

He gripped the banister tightly, and furrowed his brow.

"Alright… I'll _consider _it," he finally said, fully intending to skip the funeral.

He tore away from the banister and ran to his room.

_What the fuck's the point of a funeral? They'd say all those nice things about Kikyou… and she wouldn't even be there to hear them…_

"Kikyou… help me," Inuyasha closed his eyes and tilted his head up, "If you're up there… somewhere… help me… give me the strength… to move on…"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Heyyy guysies, thanks for all the reviews thou I hope that people would start giving me some constructive criticism.

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Busy with the end of the school year and all that jazz.

:) R&R, ploxx. (:


	11. A Week of Freedom

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

**.CHAPTER 11.**

**A Week of Freedom**

As Inuyasha stepped out of the school, a light breeze ruffled his long, silver hair. He stood there for a second, allowing it to caress his face and tickle his ears. He grinned.

One whole week with no school. _One whole week._

He grinned wider and almost joined in the cheering and whooping of the crowd of overjoyed students that just swept past him.

"Inuyasha!"

A pair of hands covered his eyes, and he growled as Sango's scent overwhelmed him.

"Sango!" he yelled, and whipped around to find the laughing girl, accompanied by a certain monk whose hand was currently inching towards a certain girl's bottom.

The said girl leapt away before the lecherous monk's cursed right hand could come in contact with her backside.

"_PERVERT!_" she screeched at him, then smiled sweetly at Inuyasha. "Soooo… aren't you _excited? _It's finally spring break… I've been awaiting this day for months…"

She dragged both boys to Inuyasha's car, pointed to it, then turned back to Inuyasha and issued a strict-sounding command: "Drive."

"Wh-what? To where?"

"Where else?" Sango rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Your house, doofus. I have our hangout all planned out."

At that, she smiled at him, showing her two rows of neat, white teeth, and jumped into the car.

"More like YOUR shopping spree…" Inuyasha muttered under his breath and exchanged glances with Miroku.

Sango busied herself with her homework while they drove home, and managed to finish over half of it before the car slid into the driveway of Inuyasha's huge house. She was the first out of the car, and in the house. By the time the two boys had slunk into the room, she had already organized and written down a To-Do list. As soon as they saw the little white sheet in her hand, they both groaned; Sango was notorious for her super-extra-long To-Do lists.

Sango smiled at them as they entered.

"Alrighty, then, are we all ready?" she piped cheerfully.

They both nodded glumly, and said, in unison, "Yep."

"What are you two waiting for, the? Let's go!" before they could reply, she was dragging them to the car once more, scolding them for being too slow.

They arrived at the mall in a couple minutes, with Sango complaining that Inuyasha drove too slow.

"You drive as slow as molasses!"

"What?! I was driving a fucking ten miles over the speed limit!" He looked over at Miroku, who was cracking up. "Oi, Houshi, tell your girlfriend that her expectations can only be met by a god."

He stopped laughing and stared at Sango, blushing madly.

"I'm NOT his girlfriend, and I never WILL be that pervert's girlfriend," she huffed and stomped toward the mall.

Miroku frowned at Inuyasha and ran after Sango.

"What?" he called to Miroku, and caught up to him.

"Thanks a lot…"

"Hey, you can do SO much better than that bitch… What about that cute girl you were talking about that other day…?"

"Sango's NOT a bitch!" Miroku glared at Inuyasha.

"Ok, ok… Sheesh… What's UP with you people today?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes heavenward and continued walking.

They entered the mall just in time to see Sango walk into Hollister. They sat on the benches just outside the store, wearing twin I-can't-believe-I-just-allowed-myself-to-be-dragged-into-this-hellhole expressions on their faces.

Two hours and several shopping bags later, Sango was finally done. Her previously foul mood had evaporated into oblivion, and was replaced by her regular uppity mood.

"Phew! Two hours! My record time," she announced to both boys, who were slumped over each other in boredom. "Now, wasn't that just SO exciting?"

She went on a rant about all the wonderful things she had bought for quite a while before finally realizing that her audience had fallen asleep…

"Why can't you PIGS stay AWAKE for ONCE?!" she whacked them both on their heads and loomed over them, with an utterly pissed expression on her face.

Inuyasha woke with a start and sweat-dropped, attempting to change the subject.

"U-ummm… Sango, didn't you say we were going to go watch a movie after your shopping spree?"

He was relieved to see that she had started to smile.

"Why, yes, dear Inuyasha," she said, continuing to smile pleasantly, "Let's see… I heard about this one chick flick that came out just last week…"

Inuyasha's agonized scream could be heard throughout the mall…

After Sango finally managed to pull the unlucky pair into the movie theaters, the movie had already started, and Inuyasha and Miroku were still entirely convinced they'd fall asleep before the movie hit the halfway mark.

Sango sighed.

"Great, now how are we supposed to get past all these people?" she whined and looked imploringly at the boys.

"Ugh.. you girls. Too delicate to do anything. Watch, and learn."

Inuyasha pushed roughly past the people sitting at the edge of the rows without even apologizing.

"Well, excuse me!" an offended voice came from behind him.

He turned around to find the source of the voice, and saw Kikyou. His eyes widened, and he pushed his way back to the girl.

"K-kikyou? What…?" he took a good look at her and realized that it wasn't Kikyou. This girl's eyes were slightly bigger, and she had lighter skin. She also seemed very energetic, a quality that Kikyou never had.

He had accidentally mistaken her for being his deceased girlfriend.

"Hey, you. Yeah, you with the face," the girl addressed him, "Who do you think you are? Just pushing past people like that. It's very rude. Didn't your mother teach you anything?"

Inuyasha snapped out of his daze, and glared at the girl. Who did she think _she_was, talking to him like that?

"Well, excuse ME, princess, I was just trying to pass by your thunder thighs," he retorted.

"MY thunder thighs? Well, at least I don't have a big fat head like you do, dog boy," she shot back, noting the hanyou ears that rested atop his head, and the cascade of silver hair.

"I do NOT have a big fat head, wench!"

He raised his hands up to his head instinctively, but quickly realized what he was doing, and forced them back to his sides, clenching them.

"Insensitive moron!" she said furiously, raising her voice a little.

"Fugly arse!" he yelled back in reply.

Several people turned to look at the fighting pair.

"Uncivilized brute!"

"Retarded fag!"

"Thickheaded lard!"

"Fat…fat… fat twig…thing!"

The Kikyou look-alike raised an eyebrow at him.

"That's an oxymoron, you moron," she laughed at him.

"Look, I don't GIVE a shit," he snorted, "Listen here, whoever you are –"

"Kagome," she interrupted.

"Whatever. Listen here, 'Gome –"

"KAgome!"

"I _DON'T CARE,_" he rolled his eyes, then went on, "I just wasted a whole 5 minutes of my LIFE talking to you, and –"

"More like_insulting _me!"

"Well, you started it, wench!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did –"

"What's the holdup here??" an angry voice hissed at them, and they turned around to find Sango tapping her foot impatiently, "Everyone in the theater's getting pissed, you better get seated before we all get booted!"

Both Inuyasha and the girl looked around. During their heated argument, they hadn't noticed that everyone had started to stare at them, and making "shhh"ing sounds.

He scowled at a young boy staring up at him.

"What are YOu staring at, you little dou-"

Sango slapped a hand over his mouth before he could utter any profane words that might scar the innocent boy for life.

"Geez, you testosterone-filled dee-bags are harder to babysit than my little brother!" Sango said in an exasperated tone.

"Tell me about it!" the girl Inuyasha had gotten into an argument moments before nodded her head at Sango and agreed.

"Haha… Why, I remember this one time…"

Inuyasha left them to their chatter. It was annoying. _They sound like chipmunks on crack…_ he observed at he listened to their conversation. He attempted to concentrate on the screen, but he preferred action movies, and so, naturally, he tended to fall asleep in the fluffy romantic variety.

Miroku stared at the screen, his eyes glazing over from sleepiness. He turned to Inuyasha, expecting to see him snoring on the seat. Surely enough, Inuyasha was draped over the armrest, snoring like a baby. And it was only 20 minutes into the film! He sighed and leaned back into his seat, shifting into a more comfortable position. He heard Sango and that other girl whispering a couple seats away and sighed again. Sango's new friend… Inuyasha wasn't going to like this very much. He hadn't made the best first impression on that poor girl…

Miroku shrugged and closed his eyes, looking forward to the much-earned rest he was going to get…

His "much-earned rest" was interrupted, however, when the movie ended an hour later and Sango was yakking at him to move his ass out of the theater, or she'd do it for him… with an electric collar.

"What a perfect waste of 16 bucks!" she was saying as they exited the theater, "And it was actually a GOOD movie!"

"Chick flicks are never good…" Inuyasha muttered under his breath.

Sango narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"What was that?" she stared at him through slit eyes, as if daring him to say something.

"Nothing…"

"Oh, by the way, meet my new friend, Kagome…" she smiled, and the mood instantly changed.

Miroku exchanged hellos with Kagome, but Inuyasha stood his ground, glaring at her.

"You befriended THAT?" he growled, disgusted, and pointed to the girl.

Sango and Kagome simultaneously put their hands on their hips and glared right back.

"Apologize, Inuyasha. _NOW_," Sango raised her hand.

"Make me!"

She slapped him, hard, across the face, and Miroku winced at the sound. She raised her hand again, and raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him to smart mouth her again.

He opened his mouth to protest, but changed his mind, deciding to take a different path.

"Hello," he said to Kagome in a pleasant tone, "Nice to meet you… _wench_."

He dashed off, snickering, before she had the chance to reply back with a name of her own. Sango frowned, and folded her arms.

"I'll kill that arrogant bastard!"

Kagome laughed.

"It's fine… Let him go. It's not worth getting worked up over him."

"I guess… I'll kill him later."

Miroku cleared his throat, reminding Sango that he wasn't going to wait around to listen to their little chitchats. So they exchanged phone numbers, and headed off in different directions, already planning in their minds when their next meeting would be.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

OMFG. Yes, I know I haven't uploaded in a LONG time. I totally forgot about this wonderful place. Well, not forgot. But I went all unmotivated and stuffs. x33

But I'm TOTALLY BACK. For now.

And I have a new chappie. ;) This was written a while back... I just didn't upload it.

You might see some changes in my writing style... I need to read a couple of fanfics on this site to get back in the fanfic mode/world. x33 Shyeaa.. Soo.. hang in there!

Review are welcome. :)


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